Over the past couple of weeks Andy Murray has hit a zone of excellence on clay, his third surface, that is feeding the growing belief that he can win the French Open, probably the toughest prize in tennis for anyone but Rafael Nadal to get his hands on.
Novak Djokovic, gathering his energy for Paris, will start favourite there in a fortnight, and Nadal, who has nine triumphs at Roland Garros to buoy his inner drive, will be a little behind him in the frame – as he was last year. It is a peculiar place for the Mallorcan to find himself, having been virtually unbeatable over five sets on clay for a decade.